Follow Us

How to Make Pet Beds & Toys

You can easily make your own pet bed and toys out of supplies you have around the house.

Cat dog friendship image by ftelkov from Fotolia.com

Many pet owners buy a pet bed and pet toys for their canine or feline family companion. Pet supply stores have many options for bed styles and sizes as well as types of toys for your pet to play with. Unfortunately, the beds and toys you can purchase at the store can be quite expensive. Luckily, you can easily make your own pet bed and pet toys at home with old towels and sweaters for little money.

Bed

Step 1

Use a soft measuring tape to measure from the tip of your pet's nose to his rump. The measurement will determine the size of his bed. Add six inches to this measurement to account for the bed's filling.

Step 2

Choose one to three towels to use as the fabric for your bed. The number of towels you need depends on the measurements from Step 1; small dogs might require one towel while larger dogs might need three.

Step 3

Cut a paper grocery bag open, and lay it flat. Cut it to the length of your measurement from Step 1. Then fold the bag in half twice, and use scissors to round the corners. When you open the bag, it will be your template for cutting your fabric.

Step 4

Use your template to cut out the rounded base for your bed from your towel. Also cut a second base out of a piece of canvas; this piece will be the bottom of your bed.

Step 5

Measure the template's outline. This will be the length of fabric you need to make the tube for the sides of your bed. Determine the height you want the sides of your bed to be, and multiple that by two. This is the width of fabric you will make the tube for the sides of your bed. Cut a towel to these measurements. If needed, use two towels and sew the lengths together. Fold the towel in half widthwise to make your tube.

Step 6

Place the two bottom pieces on top of each other, right sides facing out, and use a sewing machine to sew the open edge of the tube to the base. Sew the edges of the tube to one another as well. Leave a four- to five-inch gap in the tube and the base to allow for stuffing.

Step 7

Fill the base of the bed and the tube with polyfill stuffing.

Step 8

Sew the gaps to finish the bed.

Toy

Step 1

Cut the sleeves off an acrylic sweater. You can use another fabric, but acrylic is safe for the washing machine. Cut down the side of sleeves to make two lengths of fabric from each sleeve.

Step 2

Cut a bone or fish shape out of a piece of paper, and pin it to one of the lengths of fabric from your sleeve. Use scissors to cut out the shape. Remove the pins, and repeat on each sleeve.

Step 3

Pin two of the cut out sweater shapes together, and sew them together. Leave a two-inch gap on the edge of the bone to allow for stuffing. Remove the pins.

Step 4

Stuff the inside of your bone with polyfill stuffing. Also place a squeaker or bell into the toy. You can find these at your local pet supply store. Or you can add some catnip for your feline friends.